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International Academic Journal of Information Sciences and Project Management | Volume 2, Issue 1, pp. 197-216

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INFLUENCE OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION STRATEGIES

ON SOCIAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AMONG

PASTORALIST COMMUNITIES IN KENYA: A CASE OF

ISIOLO COUNTY

Patrick Karume Lesengei

University of Nairobi, Kenya

Amos Gitonga

University of Nairobi, Kenya

©2017

International Academic Journal of Information Sciences and Project Management

(IAJISPM) | ISSN 2519-7711

Received: 13th July 2017

Accepted: 17th July 2017

Full Length Research

Available Online at:

http://www.iajournals.org/articles/iajispm_v2_i1_197_216.pdf

Citation: Lesengei, P. K. & Gitonga, A. (2017). Influence of conflict resolution strategies

on social economic development among pastoralist communities in Kenya: A case of

Isiolo County. International Academic Journal of Information Sciences and Project

Management, 2(1), 197-216

http://www.iajournals.org/articles/iajispm_v2_i1_197_216.pdf


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ABSTRACT

Conflicts have many implications being

political, economic, social, and cultural.

Conflict lead to lowering of economic

productivity, weakening of political

institutions of governance, incapacity to

provide essential services, destruction and

depletion of existing resources, loss of food

production, and capital flight. There exist

different methods of managing conflicts.

The most prevalent among the pastoral

communities being the traditional justice

system. Under this system the methods are

negotiation, mediation (or compromise),

reconciliation, arbitration, and litigation This

study sought to achieve the following

objectives; To assess the extent to which

negotiations influence social economic

development among pastoralist communities

in Kenya, To evaluate how reconciliation

influence social economic development

among pastoralist communities in Kenya, to

establish extent to which mediation

influence social economic development

among pastoralist communities in Kenya.

Finally to find out how

adjudication/arbitration influence social

economic development among pastoralist

communities in Kenya. The purpose of the

study was to determine the influence of

conflict resolution strategies on social

economic development among pastoralist

communities in Kenya with special

reference to Isiolo County. The study used

descriptive design while the target

population for this study comprised the

various stakeholders in Isiolo County. A

sample population of 193 respondents was

used in this study selected using stratified

and random sampling technique. Primary

data was obtained using self-administered

questionnaires. Data was analyzed using

Statistical Package for Social Sciences

(SPSS Version 22.0). Descriptive statistics

such as frequencies, percentages, mean

score and standard deviation were used for

all the quantitative variables and information

presented inform of tables while multiple

regression analysis was used to establish the

relations between the independent and

dependent variables. The study found that

adjudication/arbitration strategy had the

greatest effect on the social economic

development among pastoralist

communities, followed by reconciliation

strategy, then negotiation strategy while

level of mediation strategy had the least

effect to the social economic development

among pastoralist communities. The study

concludes that negotiation strategies

reconciliation strategies had positively

affected social economic development

among pastoralist communities in Isiolo

County. The study recommends promotion

of meetings and discussion between

communities, increased inter-community

and that diminishing natural resource base

does not automatically lead to violent

conflict if there are functional local

institutions, enforceable, respected land use

plans and mechanisms and actualizing

access to justice for negotiating cross-

territorial grazing access in periods of

scarcity.

Key Words: conflict resolution strategies,

social economic development, pastoralist

communities, Kenya, Isiolo County


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INTRODUCTION

Conflicts have political, economic, social, and cultural implications and contribute to the

lowering of economic productivity, weakening of political institutions of governance, incapacity

to provide essential services, destruction and depletion of existing resources, loss of food

production, and capital flight (Olaoba, 2011). The causes of the conflicts are many and complex,

including poor governance, poverty, drought, famine, competition for scarce resources, and

identity-based rivalries (Barrett, Brandon, Gibson & Gjertsen, 2010). These conflicts have

caused extensive local crises, drawn heavily on military resources, and have had an adverse

impact on economic development in the region. The impact of violent conflict has manifested

itself psychologically, physically, and economically, going beyond the material and affecting the

lives of thousands of women, children, and men.

There exist different methods of managing conflicts. The most prevalent among the pastoral

communities being the traditional justice system. Under this system the methods are negotiation,

mediation (or compromise), reconciliation, arbitration, and litigation (Olaoba, 2011). According

to Theresa and Oluwafemi (2014), mediation is an old method of conflict management

surrounded by secrecy and involves on-coercive intervention of third party (mediators).

Muigua (2014) opines that negotiation is the process involving conflicting parties meeting to

identify and discuss the issues at hand so as to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution without

the help of a third party. The parties themselves attempt to settle their differences using a range

of techniques like concession or compromise, and coercion or confrontation. Similarly,

conciliation is perhaps the most significant aspect of conflict management. This process is

similar to mediation except for the fact that in conciliation, the third party can propose a solution

(Theresa & Oluwafemi, 2014). Its advantages are similar to those of negotiation. It has all the

advantages and disadvantages of negotiation except that the conciliator can propose solutions,

thus making parties lose some control over the process. Although best applied in trade disputes,

conciliations are recognized by a number of international legal instruments as a means to the

management of several types of conflicts. It is considered the most significant aspect of conflict

resolution, owing that it is the end product of negotiation, mediation, or adjudication.

Pimentel (2010), in their research programs on alternative justice systems as practiced across the

globe, found that only about 15 percent of disputes in the United States, England and Wales enter

the legal system, while in Australia, only 6 percent of commercial disputes make it to court. In

the developing world, Wojkowska and Cunningham(2010)contends that traditional justice

system has been popularly employed in conflict management in many states. Hong (2011)

conducted a study to compare conflict management strategies (CMS) between Koreans and

Americans. Six hundred (600) respondents took part in the study involving 300 Koreans and 300

Americans, the study showed that Koreans prefer an avoidance conflict management and a

cooperative orientation, whereas the American prefers a competition strategy and an assertive

orientation.


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There exist different types of conflict involving members of the same community or between

communities. This is more prevalent among the nomadic and pastoral communities who don’t

have permanent homes. A study conducted by Ikdahl, Hellum, Kaarhus, Benjamin Sen, and

Kameri (2011) in five countries (Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya)

found that land conflicts, domestic conflicts, cattle rustling, burglary, and other delinquencies are

common issues that make relationships to be poor within communities. Sandefur and Siddiqi

(2011) conducted a survey of 2,500 households in rural Liberia, cataloging over 4,500 disputes

taken to a variety of customary and formal forums. The underlying hypothesis is that rural

Liberians make constrained but rational choices in navigating the dual legal system, and that

these choices embody a trade-off between the broader legal rights provided by the formal

system, and the more efficient restorative remedies offered by the customary system. The

overwhelming tendency to take disputes to customary rather than formal forums provides

important lessons about the design of justice sector reforms targeted at the rural poor (Ribot,

2012).

In Malawi between 80% and 90% of all disputes are processed through customary justice

forums, while in Bangladesh an estimated 60% -70% of local disputes are solved through the a

traditional court set up for conflict resolution(Theresa &Oluwafemi, 2014). Similarly, in Sierra

Leone, approximately 85% of the population falls underthe jurisdiction of customary law,

defined under the Constitution as the rules of law, which, by custom, are applicable to particular

communities in Sierra Leone: customary tenure covers 75% of land in most African countries,

affecting 90% of land transactions in countries like Mozambique and Ghana.

The border areas of Kenya and its neighboring countries have, over a long time, been a major

arena for a variety of low-intensity conflicts, some of which are linked to wider cross-border and

regional conflicts. The roots of these conflicts are ecological(Adan&Pkalya, 2011). A history of

economic and social marginalization looms large in all border conflicts within the Horn ofAfrica.

Increased competition over resources, reduced access to land, water, and other natural resources

due to increasing demographic and environmental pressure from within and without, and reduced

access to credit, markets, and extension services that culminate in poverty, all play a role.In a

study of non-formal dispute resolution processes in a slum area in Nairobi, Kamau(2007)

observed that non-formal conflict resolution operate in a wider socio-economic context and are

integrated into the social and economic fabric of life, solving conflicts which cut across various

contexts.

However, the participatory and problem-solving approach of non-formal forums has potential for

democratizing dispute resolution. Kamau(2007) also found that there is a high level of

interaction between non-formal and formal dispute resolution processes, which to a large extent

blurs the boundary between the official and unofficial. Similarly, inter-ethnic approaches

effectively resolve large-scale disputes. Menkhaus (2000) showed that traditional justice systems

(TJS) are dynamic. They keep changing and adjusting to incorporate new realities in the social

milieu. The root cause of conflict in Isiolo County is border disputes natural resource scarcity.


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Pastoralist’s communities result into conflict over use and ownership rights of these scarce

resources. Pastoralist ‘s violence has been transformed in recent years by a number of factors

including; economic and political marginalization, active resistance by pastoralist communities

to assimilation, resource depletion and demographic changes, climatic conditions, cattle

stealing(raiding/rustling) the growing availability of small arms and light weapons and poorly

designed policies (Adan & Pkalya, 2011).

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Conflict has grown rapidly in the Horn of Africa (HOA) in the last three decades, and among the

most vulnerable areas in Kenya is the North-Eastern Region and the Rift Valley. Conflict is now

widespread in the arid and semi-arid zones, and often overlaps with extreme food insecurity

(Kinyanjui, 2011). Many local civil society organizations have programs to manage conflict, and

international NGOs, intergovernmental organizations and donors are increasingly preoccupied

with understanding conflict and experimenting with solutions. In addition, conflicts are widely

recognized as an important source of poverty and risk to pastoral communities in the Arid and

Semi-Arid Lands (ASALS) areas. Most of these conflicts are resource based in nature and often

between pastoralists and farmers. Pastoralist communities in Kenya are concerned with raising of

livestock such as camels, goats, cattle and sheep, moving the herds in search of fresh pasture and

water which are scarce (Adan&Pkalya, 2011).

Several studies have been carried out on conflict and conflict management. Abuya, (2009)

carried out an evaluation of causes of stakeholder’s conflicts and conflict resolution approaches

in Kenya. The study concluded that resources are the major causes of conflict among the pastoral

communities. Baya (2009) evaluated the relationship between Communication and conflict: a

case study of indigenous mechanisms of conflict resolution among the Mijikenda. Mutula (2011)

evaluated conflict management in educational institutions in Kenya. The art of avoiding

destructive conflict resolution strategies in secondary schools. The study found that there are

several strategies used in schools to reduce conflict among them reconciliation and arbitration. In

addition, Ochieng (2007) studied the role of traditional conflict management mechanisms in

conflict prevention and resolution in Africa and found that traditional conflict management

mechanisms are prevalent in all communities and households. Omwenga (2011) conducted a

study on conflict modelling and resolution in a dynamic state. Ondiege (2012) evaluated the

effectiveness of peace-building and conflict resolution mechanisms in Wajir County.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of conflict resolution strategies on social

economic development among pastoralist communities in Kenya with special reference to Isiolo

County.


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SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. To assess the extent to which negotiations influence social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Kenya

2. To evaluate how reconciliation, influence social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Kenya

3. To establish extent to which mediation influence social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Kenya.

4. To find out how adjudication/arbitration influence social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Kenya.

THEORETICAL REVIEW

A theory is an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of

circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomenon (Sandefur & Siddiqi, 2011). There are a

number of theories that are related to conflict management. This study reviews the conflict

resolution theory, the game theory and the theory of cooperation and competition.

Conflict Resolution Theory

According to Deutsch (2012), this theory suggests that the constructive process of conflict

resolution is through effective cooperative problem-solving process. It also equates the process

of conflict resolution with a competitive process in which the competing parties are involved in

a competition to determine the person who wins and the one who loses. Usually, the outcome of

the struggle is a loss for both parties. The norms of supportive behaviour are similar to those of

respect, responsibility, honesty, empowerment and caring behaviour towards friends or fellow

group members (Kinyanjui, 2011). This theory notes that good cooperative relations facilitate

constructive management of inevitable conflicts. The norms in this theory are: placing the

disagreements in perspective by identifying common ground and common interests, addressing

only the issues when there are disagreements and refrain from making personal attacks.

Finally, remain a moral person throughout the conflict by showing concern, care and love as the

other party is a member of one moral community. Schellenberg (2006) studies reveal that

sometimes conflict resolution may end in victory of one party who is superior to the other while

in other cases, conflict resolution may end in compromise. Schellenbergs theory of conflict

resolution also suggests that there are many forms of conflict resolution among them coercion,

negotiation, arbitration and conciliation. Sandole (2013) notes that conflict resolution requires a

problem solving approach, direct participation by the parties in the conflict in jointly shaping

the solution and facilitation by a third party trained in the process of conflict resolution.

Schellenberg (2006) further notes that there is cultural and structural conflict. In cultural

conflict, parties bring to their relationship important differences in values while structural

conflict deals with power deficiencies of one or both parties within an organization, community,


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state or region that hinders them from satisfying their needs. Burton (2013) is concerned with

transforming structurally violent structures which impact people’s lives to the extent that they

are quite prepared to explode their way into their consciousness if not their lives. In modern era,

human conflict has been biologized most famously by Lorenz (1966) as aggression. His view

supports that conflict is deeply internalized, instinctual and part of the animal nature of homo

sapiens.

Restorative Justice (RJ) Theory

This theory was espoused by Charles Burton(Barton, 2000). According to Barton (2000),

traditional wisdom is gradually considering adapting restorative justice interventions, which

views the just and fair (or the most appropriate) response to a criminal act cannot best be

addressed by formal justice professionals. Accordingly, the critical decisions of a formal justice

response (concerning justice, prevention, and welfare) are best made by the principal parties

(victim and offender) themselves, preferably in dialogue with one another in the presence of their

respective communities (typically family and friends). Generally, this is often the case wherever

there is an identifiable victim and responsibility for the offence is not in dispute, and both parties

are willing to meet in an attempt to settle the matter through a process of discussion and

negotiation in ways that are meaningful and right for them. However, their agreements must fall

within the law and are not obviously harmful to the public interest (Kamau, 2007).

Key principles of Restorative Justice (RJ) include a view of crime as a conflict between

individuals rather than between offender and the State. Closely related to this is a belief that the

responsibility for governance of security, crime and disorder is to be shared among all members

of the community. Restorative justice is viewed as a humanitarian approach that brings to the

foreground ambitions of forgiveness, healing, reparation and reintegration (Zehr and Mika,

1998).Therefore, RJ programs bring together the offender, victim, their respective families

,friends and community representatives, and attempt to engage them in a process of

reconciliation and reparation. The aim is to allow offenders and victims to meet in a face-to-face

context (although indirect contact is often employed), to voice their experiences and

understandings, and to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution. There are several different

modes of practice in RJ. Victim-offender reconciliation, family-group conferencing, and

sentencing circles are three popular models – and these vary in terms of the facilitator’s role and

the number and type of participants included (Sharpe, 1998).

As noted by McCorry (2010), when a crime is committed, the formal justice system has been

primarily concerned with three questions: Who did it? What laws were broken? What should be

done to punish or treat the offender? In contrast, restorative justice advocates emphasize three

very different questions: what is the nature of the harm resulting from the crime? What needs to

be done to make it right or repair the harm? Who is responsible for this repair? (McCorry, 2010).

Hence, rather than defining crime and delinquency simply as lawbreaking against the state,

advocates of restorative justice make the point that offenders harm victims and communities as


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well. In addition, one of the primary aims of restorative justice programs is to make amends for

offending, rather than seeking retribution and inflicting pain upon the offender (Wamukonya,

2011).

Restorative Justice has encountered several criticisms. Legesse (2000) argued that victims are

often enticed into restorative justice before they are ready. Pressure to achieve “speedy trial”

objectives for offenders can be quite contrary to the interests of victims. Indeed, even in terms of

the interests of offenders, rushing into a restorative justice meeting can be counterproductive

with a victim who with a bit more time would be ready to forgive rather than to hate.

Furthermore, Watson (2011) observed that restorative justice can be a shaming machine that

worsens the stigmatization of offenders. The foregoing criticisms notwithstanding, RJ remains

the only avenue for integrating and healing communities, more so those that have faced turmoil

and high level of animosity. Restorative Justice(RJ) was considered suitable for this study

because conflict resolution considers cultural and community values in managing conflicts,

without losers or winners at the end of the process.

Cooperation and Competition Theory

This theory was initially developed by Deutsch (2010) and elaborated by Johnson (1989). This

theory has two basic ideas. The first is the interdependence among goals of the people involved

in a conflict. The other is the type of action taken by the two people involved. He identifies two

types of goal independence. The first is positive and the other negative. The positive is where the

probability of a person’s goal attainment is positively correlated with the amount of another

attaining his goal. The negative is where the goal is linked in such a way that the amount of the

goal attainment is negatively correlated with the amount of the others goal attainment. This

means, if you are positively linked with another person, then you sink or swim together

(Deutsch, 2010). Therefore, if the other sinks, you swim and if the other swims, you sink. In this

theory, there are two basic types of action by a person. These are effective actions, which

improve a person’s chances of attaining a goal and bungling actions, which worsens a person’s

chances of obtaining a goal.

The findings in this theory are similar to those by Morton and Marcus (2010) who concluded that

either the cooperative or the competitive nature of the participants in a conflict determines the

course of the outcome. They further noted that people have an inborn tendency to act positively

to the beneficial and negatively to the harmful and these act as the foundation for human

potentials for cooperation and love as well as competition and hate. According to Johnson (1989)

studies indicate that cooperation process leads to greater group productivity, more favourable

interpersonal relationships, better psychological health and higher self-esteem. His research has

further proven that more constructive resolution of conflict results from cooperation as opposed

to competitive processes.

The studies further suggest that constructive processes of conflict resolution are similar to

cooperative processes of problem solving and destructive processes of conflict resolution are


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similar to competitive processes. Therefore, cooperative-constructive processes of conflict

resolution leads to outcomes like mutual benefit and satisfaction, strengthening relationships,

positive psychological effects while competitive destructive process leads to material losses and

dissatisfaction, worsening relationships and negative psychological effects in at least one

party(Johnson, 1989).According to Alper, Tjosvold and Law (2010), cooperative instead of a

competitive approach to conflict resolution leads to conflict efficacy that in turn results in

effective performance. This conclusion was reached after a research was conducted in a team of

four hundred and eighty-nine employees recruited for a production department in a leading

electronic manufacturing firm.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

According to Creswell (2012), research design is the arrangement of the conditions for collection

and analysis of data in a manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with

economy in procedure. In a nutshell, it is the blue print for the collection, measurement and

analysis of data. The study used descriptive design. According to Babbie (2010), descriptive

research was used to obtain information concerning current status of the phenomena to describe

what exists with respect to variables in a situation.

Target Population

According to Saunders, Lewisand Thornhill (2009), a population is the total collection of

elements about which we wish to make inferences. The target population for this study

comprised the various stakeholders in Isiolo County such as County representatives, Chiefs,

Religious Leaders, Youth Leaders, Women Leaders, Community Elders, Traders Association

and Jua Kali Artisans Associationas.

Sampling Size

Sampling is a deliberate choice of a number of people who are to provide the data from which a

study would draw conclusions about some larger group whom these people represent. The

sample size is a subset of the population that is taken to be representatives of the entire

population (Kumar, 2011). A sample population of 193 was arrived at by calculating the target

population of 391 with a 95% confidence level and an error of 0.05 using the below formula

taken from Kothari (2004).

Where: n = Size of the sample,

N = Size of the population and given as 391,


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℮ = Acceptable error and given as 0.05,

∂p = The standard deviation of the population and given as 0.5 where not known,

Z = Standard variate at a confidence level given as 1.96 at 95% confidence level.

The study selected the respondents using stratified and random sampling technique. The goal of

stratified random sampling is to achieve the desired representation from various sub-groups in

the population. In stratified random sampling subjects are selected in such a way that the existing

sub-groups in the population are more or less represented in the sample (Kothari, 2004). The

method involved dividing the population into a series of relevant strata, which implies that the

sample is likely to be more representatives (Saunders et al., 2009).

Research Instruments

Primary data was obtained using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaire was made

up of both open ended and closed ended questions. The open-ended questions was used so as to

encourage the respondent to give an in-depth and felt response without feeling held back in

illuminating of any information and the closed ended questions allow respondent to respond

from limited options that had been stated. According to Saunders et al (2009), the open ended or

unstructured questions allowed profound response from the respondents while the closed or

structured questions are generally easier to evaluate.

The purpose of the pilot testing is to establish the validity and reliability of the research

instrumentation and to enhance face validity. The pilot testing was conducted using the

questionnaire to 15 representatives of the interest groups who were not included in the final

sample. All aspects of the questionnaire were pre-tested including question content, wording,

sequence, form and layout, question difficulty and instructions. The feedback obtained were used

to revise the questionnaire before administering it to the study respondents.

Validity is the accuracy and meaningfulness of inferences, based on the research results. One of

the main reasons for conducting the pilot study is to ascertain the validity of the questionnaire.

The study used content validity to ascertain the validity of the questionnaires (Bryman & Bell,

2011). Content validity draws an inference from test scores to a large domain of items similar to

those on the test. Content validity is concerned with sample-population representativeness.

Sekaran and Bougie (2010) stated that the knowledge and skills covered by the test items should

be representative to the larger domain of knowledge and skills.

Data Collection Procedures

The researcher obtained an introduction letter from the university, which was presented to each

relevant authority so as to be allowed to collect the necessary data from the respondents. The

researcher personally administered the research instruments to the respondents using drop and

pick method. This enabled the researcher to establish rapport, explain the purpose of the study

and the meaning of items that were clear as observed by (Bryman, &Bell, 2011).


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Data Analysis Techniques

Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 22.0) which is

the most recent version. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean score and

standard deviation were used for all the quantitative variables and information presented inform

of tables. Based on Zibran (2012) recommendation on the analysis of qualitative data, collected

data was organized, sorted out, coded and thematically analyzed, searching for meaning,

interpreting and drawing of conclusions based on concepts. Inferential data analysis was done

using multiple regression analysis. Multiple regression analysis was used to establish the

relations between the independent and dependent variables. Multiple regression attempts to

determine whether a group of variables together predict a given dependent variable (Babbie,

2010). Since there were four independent variables in this study the multiple regression model

generally assumed the following equation;

Y= β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + β3X3 + β4X4 + €

Where:

Y= Social Economic Development

β0=constant

X1= Negotiations, X2= Reconciliation, X3= Mediation, X4= Adjudication/Arbitration,

€=Error Term

RESEARCH RESULTS

Reliability Analysis

A pilot study was carried out to determine reliability of the questionnaires. The pilot study

involved 15 respondents. Reliability analysis was subsequently done using Cronbach’s Alpha

which measures the internal consistency by establishing if certain items within a scale measure

the same construct. This illustrates that all the five scales were reliable as their reliability values

exceeded the prescribed threshold of 0.7. This, therefore, depicts that the research instrument

was reliable and therefore required no amendments.

Table 1: Reliability Analysis

Cronbach's Alpha

Negotiations .706

Reconciliation .814

Mediation .791

Adjudication/Arbitration .731


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Regression Analysis

In this study, a multiple regression analysis was conducted to test the influence among predictor

variables. The research used statistical package for social sciences (SPSS V 22.0) to code, enter

and compute the measurements of the multiple regressions

Table 2: Model Summary

Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of the Estimate

1 0.8662 0.7503 0.6902 0.7325

R-Squared is a commonly used statistic to evaluate model fit. R-square is 1 minus the ratio of

residual variability. 69.02% of the changes in the social economic development among

pastoralist communities could be attributed to the combined effect of the predictor variables.

Table 3: Summary of One-Way ANOVA results

Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

1 Regression 9.223 4 2.306 3.334 0.015

Residual 42.876 118 0.692

Total 52.099 122

The probability value of 0.015 indicates that the regression relationship was highly significant in

predicting how negotiation strategy, reconciliation strategy, mediation strategy and

adjudication/arbitration strategy influenced social economic development among pastoralist

communities. The F calculated at 5% level of significance was 3.334 since F calculated is greater

than the F critical (value = 2.5252), this shows that the overall model was significant.

Table 4: Regression Coefficients

Model

Unstandardized

Coefficients

Standardized

Coefficients

t Sig. B Std. Error Beta

1 (Constant) 1.053 0.217 2.889 5.31E-03

Negotiation strategy 0.682 0.149 0.613 5.309 1.58E-06

Reconciliation strategy 0.701 0.181 0.149 3.210 2.10E-03

Mediation strategy 0.599 0.196 0.234 4.255 7.19E-05

Adjudication/arbitration strategy 0.763 0.091 0.138 3.989 1.78E-04

As per the SPSS generated table above, the equation (Y = β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + β3X3 + β4X4+ ε)

becomes:

Y= 1.053 + 0.682X1+ 0.701X2+ 0.599X3+ 0.763X4

The regression equation above has established that taking all factors into account (negotiation

strategy, reconciliation strategy, mediation strategy and adjudication/arbitration strategy)

constant at zero social economic development among pastoralist communities will be 1.053. The


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findings presented also show that taking all other independent variables at zero, a unit increase in

the negotiation strategy would lead to a 0.682 increase in the scores of social economic

development among pastoralist communities and a unit increase in the scores of reconciliation

strategy would lead to a 0.701 increase in the scores of social economic development among

pastoralist communities. Further, the findings shows that a unit increases in the scores of

mediation strategy would lead to a 0.599 increase in the scores of co social economic

development among pastoralist communities. The study also found that a unit increase in the

scores of adjudication/arbitration strategy would lead to a 0.763 increase in the scores of social

economic development among pastoralist communities.

Discussions of Findings

Negotiations

The study established that negotiations affected social economic development among pastoralist

communities in Isiolo County. This agrees with William (2000) who opined that the underlying

secret in negotiation is to harmonize the interests of the parties concerned. Thus, even when the

conflict involves a member against his or her society, there is an emphasis on recuperation and

reinsertion of errant member back into its place in society. The study also indicated that the

effect was evidenced by harmonization of interests which affect social economic development

among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County in a great. Again the study established that

social cohesion in a great extent affected social economic development among pastoralist

communities in Isiolo County. In line with this, Muigua (2010) opined that negotiation as an

informal system has been hailed as one of the most fundamental methods of conflict resolution,

offering parties maximum control over the process. Further the effect was evidenced by the fact

that meetings and discussion in a large extent affected social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Isiolo County. Again concession and compromise was found to have

affected social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County in a

moderate extent. Finally, the study found that recuperation and reinsertion affected social

economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County in a moderate extent.

This correlates with Nancy and Welsh (2010) who indicated that where community members

feel aggrieved by the actions of their opponents, they can seek to engage them through

negotiation before exploring any other means, in case of a deadlock.

Reconciliation

Regarding the reconciliation strategies, the study found that reconciliation strategies influences

social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County in a greater

extent. This corresponds with Theresa and Oluwafemi (2014) that reconciliation is perhaps the

most significant aspect of conflict management. The influence was evidenced by consensual

outcomes which were found to have affected social economic development among pastoralist

communities in Isiolo County in a very great extent. In line with this, Olaoba (2011) considered

reconciliation the most significant aspect of conflict resolution, owing that it is the end product


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of negotiation, mediation, or adjudication. This concur with Lee and Rogan (2014) that the

method is flexible, cost effective, and expeditious, fosters relationships, is non-coercive and

result in mutual satisfying outcomes. It enhances accessibility of justice and moves it closer to

the pastoralists since the area is remote and the neglect from government has made the access to

modern justice not easy. The study also established that the effect was as a result of the aspects

of reconciliation strategies such as mutual satisfying outcomes, Social contracts and compliance

which were found to have affected social economic development among pastoralist communities

in Isiolo County. However, values, norms and culture were found to have a moderate effect.

Theresa and Oluwafemi (2014) agrees with this by indicating that The reconciliation

mechanisms are home-grown and rooted in the values, norms, culture and institutions of the

people, the people have owned it and identify with it. This makes it sustainable.

Mediation Strategy

In relation mediation strategies, the study established that the aspects of mediation strategies had

a great influence on social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo

County. This corresponds with Olaoba (2011) who opined that mediation can be classified into

two forms namely: Mediation in the political process and mediation in the legal process.

Mediation in the political process is informed by resolution as against settlement. It allows

parties to have autonomy over the choice of the mediator, the process and the outcome. The

effect was evidenced by the fact that non-coercive intervention and Non-binding dispute

resolution were being adopted in Isiolo County. Oluwafemi (2014) also added that mediation

makes it more of a settlement mechanism that is attached to the court as opposed to a resolution

process and defeats the advantages that are associated with mediation in the political process.

This is also usually couched with the dictum of no victor no vanquished as buttressed by the

maxim (Isurmona, 2011). Again capacity to reorient the parties and new and shared perception

had a great influence on social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo

County. However, equality of opportunity was found to have a little influence on social

economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County. This correlates with

Isurmona (2011) that mediation is often preferred because of its capacity to reorient the parties

towards each other, not by imposing rules on them but by helping them to achieve a new and

shared perception of their relationship. Olaoba (2011) indicated that inter-tribal conflicts were

mediated and negotiated in informal settings, where they were presided over by Council of

Elders who acted as ‘mediators’ or ‘arbitrators’. It was customary and an everyday affair where

people sat down informally and agreeing on certain issues, such as allocation of resources

Adjudication/Arbitration

The study found that the aspects of adjudication/arbitration Strategies that influence social

economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County to a very great extent.

This agrees with Muigua (2014) who observed that adjudication is thus effective in simple

construction disputes that need to be settled within some very strict time schedules. The

influence was as a result of strict time schedules, final and binding award and statutory controls


211 | P a g e

strategies being adopted in Isiolo County. This concur with Kaye and Beland (2009) that due to

the limited time frames, adjudication can be an effective tool of actualizing access to justice for

disputants who are in need of addressing the dispute in the shortest time possible and resuming

business to mitigate any economic or business losses. They study also found that actualizing

access to justice had a great influence on social economic development among pastoralist

communities in Isiolo County. In line with this, Kaye and Beland (2009) ndicated that parties can

agree on an arbitrator to determine the matter; the arbitrator has expertise in the area of dispute;

any person can represent a party in the dispute; flexibility; cost-effective; confidential; speedy

and the result is binding. The findings also agree with Ray (2009) who indicated that in disputes

involving parties with equal bargaining power and with the need for faster settlement of disputes,

especially business related, arbitration offers the best vehicle among the Alternative Dispute

Resolution(ADR) mechanisms to facilitate access to justice. Arbitration can be useful in helping

parties take control of their disputes and help in saving costs, time and emotional stress that may

come with courts.

CONCLUSIONS

The study concludes that negotiation strategies had positively affected social economic

development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County. The study deduced that the effect

was as a result of harmonization of interests which affect social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Isiolo County in a great being adopted in Isiolo County. Again the

study concludes that social cohesion in a great extent affected social economic development

among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County. Further the effect was deduced that the fact that

meetings and discussion in a large extent had affected social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Isiolo County. Again concession and compromise was found to have

affected social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County in a

moderate extent. Finally, the study found that recuperation and reinsertion affected social

economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County in a moderate extent.

Regarding the reconciliation strategies, the study concluded that reconciliation strategies had a

positive influences social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo

County. The influence was deduced by the fact that consensual outcomes were found to have

affected social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County The

study also concludes that the effect was as a result of the aspects of reconciliation strategies such

as mutual satisfying outcomes, Social contracts and compliance which were found to have

affected social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County.

However, the study deduced that values, norms and culture were found to have moderate positive

effect on social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo County.

In relation mediation strategies, the study concludes that the aspects of mediation strategies had a

positive influence on social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo

County. The effect was deduced by the fact that non-coercive intervention and Non-binding

dispute resolution were being adopted in Isiolo County. Again capacity to reorient the parties and


212 | P a g e

new and shared perception had a great influence on social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Isiolo County. However, the study concludes that equality of

opportunity was found to have a little positive influence on social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Isiolo County.

Further, the study concluded that the aspects of adjudication/arbitration Strategies had a positive

influence social economic development among pastoralist communities in Isiolo. The influence

was deduced to be as a result of strict time schedules, final and binding award and statutory

controls strategies being adopted in Isiolo County. They study also concludes that actualizing

access to justice had a great positive influence on social economic development among

pastoralist communities in Isiolo County.

RECOMMENDATIONS

On negotiation, the study recommends promotion of meetings and discussion between

communities, increased inter-community recuperation and reinsertion, strong intercommunity

social cohesion. The researcher recommends that concession and compromise should be done in

first instance or immediately when a particular offence takes place. This would allow for

immediate response from the responsible administrators, thus minimizing chances of escalation.

There is also need for strengthening of existing values, norms and culture and conflict resolution

mechanisms. This will have consensual outcomes. Enhanced Mutual satisfying outcomes and

compliance with the agreement plans and inter-community mutual satisfying outcomes on social

economic development.

The study also recommends development of non-coercive intervention agreements between

pastoral communities enhanced equal opportunity access to grazing resources and peaceful

sharing of resources across territorial boundaries. Therefore, development of non-coercive

intervention and non-binding dispute resolution on managing natural resources and equality of

opportunity is central to finding lasting solutions for recurrent unrest in the study area.

The study further recommends that diminishing natural resource base does not automatically lead

to violent conflict if there are functional local institutions, enforceable, respected land use plans

and mechanisms and actualizing access to justice for negotiating cross-territorial grazing access

in periods of scarcity. Participatory land use planning complemented with reciprocal grazing

arrangements, therefore, provides the basis for achieving sustainable peaceful resource sharing

among pastoral communities not only in northwestern Kenya but also in other areas which bear

similarities with the region.


213 | P a g e

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